Meet Mark Duthie, Country Manager, ABL Qatar
The team at ABL Group shares the passion, vision and values for working in energy and the world’s oceans, de-risking and driving the energy transition. We are driven by the idea that the best work is born from professionalism, diligence… and fun. You know ABL Group, but do you know our team?
Give us a glimpse into your day-to-day life at ABL in Qatar. What keeps you on your toes?
“As the Country Manager, my day-to-day duties involves overseeing the team and our operations in Doha, ensuring that everything runs smoothly.
A big part of my role is business development which is engaging with clients, understanding their needs, and delivering the high standards of service that ABL is known for.”
What drew you to the world of marine surveying and what keeps you passionate about it?
I’ve been in the industry for 18 years, and what initially drew me to marine surveying and keeps me passionate about it is the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of the work. The marine industry presents constant challenges, which makes every day interesting and pushes me to stay sharp.
One area that has always fascinated me is rig moving. No two days are ever the same, especially when working in challenging environments and conditions. I also enjoy the tight-knit nature of the rig-moving industry. It’s a small community where you often cross paths with familiar faces, building strong professional relationships over the years.
Can you tell us about something exciting you are working on right now?
I recently took over the role as Country in the Doha office, and have enjoyed working closely with the team here. Looking at how we, as a team can grow the business in Qatar has been especially interesting to me and understanding the wide range of services the ABL Group, as a whole can assist clients with. We have a great team in Qatar, so it’s a pleasure to work with them, and luckily they share my vision to grow, and adapt.
Looking ahead, what trends or opportunities do you see shaping the energy and ocean industries in Qatar?
“Qatar is quite buoyant at the moment, and there are many areas for growth in the Energy sector especially.
The move towards greener shipping will be an exciting challenge to get involved in, in the next few years.”
Beyond the work, what’s your favourite part about being part of the ABL Group team in Doha? Any fun team moments you’d like to share?
I particularly enjoyed meeting the Middle East and North Africa and South Asia(MENSAI) management team, at the regional management meeting in Dubai in December. Meeting everyone face to face, made dealing with everyone on a day to day basis, much more interesting, and pleasurable.
If you could change one thing about the maritime industry, what would it be and why?
I wouldn’t really change anything, as it’s a very dynamic and interesting sector to work in. New challenges and opportunities emerge on a daily basis.
ABL provides comprehensive through-life support for rig moving procedures for jack-up rigs, mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs) and all other types of rigs. Our MWS teams are supported by significant in-house engineering & design capabilities specialising in rig moving operations, including in-house geotechnical engineering support.